‘Shirley Chisholm’ is coming to Barbados

The show, Shirley Chisholm: Unbossed & Unbowed, an immersive and interactive solo show will be performed at the Daphne Joseph-Hackett Theatre starring US-based Guyanese actress, Ingrid Griffith on June 25 and 26.

Shirley Chisholm is the first African -American woman to run for the presidency in the United States. In the 1960s and 1970s, this Brooklyn-born daughter of Caribbean parents was on a mission.

They called her the black Joan-of-Arc.

She called herself Fighting Shirley as she faced off against the political machine in the name of justice. The one-woman show is written by Ingrid Griffith , who is also a playwright and teaching artiste.

Griffith uses humour, history and calld for present day activism with crispness and clarity that were distinctly Chisholm.The play journeys back to Shirley Chisholm’s childhood to show how  race and gender determined how far she would go in life, why she chose to fight for the disenfranchised and what it took for her to rise.

Her parents arrived in the US in the early 1920s. By the end of the decade came the depression and in order to make ends meet, they decided to send 3-year-old Shirley and her younger siblings to live with her maternal grandmother in Barbados. Shirley’s years in Barbados reinforced her Caribbean heritage which manifested itself in her bearing and speech pattern.

The show covers the period from when segregation in the US was the law to the time it was outlawed. The characters in Unbossed & Unbowed all have strong voices and valid points of view; but it’s Shirley Chisholm’s narrative that delivers the story’s message.

Dr. Nicole Moore-Clarke, president of the Guyanese -Barbados Association Inc. (GABI) said: “Shirley Chisholm was a beacon for many Black women and minorities, being the first Black woman to be elected to the
United States Congress, and GABI is excited to tell her story through the eyes of the very talented and creative actress and playwright, Ingrid Griffith”.

“Shirley Chisholm is of Guyanese and Barbadian heritage, and we look forward to welcoming all Guyanese and Barbadians, interested in the story of this icon and trailblazer. The show promises to be entertaining and interactive, filled with humour and lots of history, “ Moore-Clarke said. She also thanked the National Cultural Foundation for its support in the event. (PR)